Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (34 page)

"Did you tell anyone where we were heading?" Damion asked Brody curiously.

"Of course not." The elf shook his head. "We didn't even know where we were going until a couple of days ago. Why do you ask?"

"It looks like we have company." The huge warrior told him, jumping to his feet. "Snowfeather says that there are a dozen elves heading this way. They were heading along the road on horseback when they suddenly stopped and abandoned their horses. They're heading right towards us." He looked back to Snowfeather.
"Would you go keep an eye on them, and let us know when they're close?"

"If I must."
The huge owl sighed, dropping his rabbit, and leaping back into the air.
"They're still about a hundred yards from the grove, and they're beginning to spread out."
He reported a moment later.
"I think they're trying to surround you."

"They're trying to surround us." Damion informed the others as they scrambled to ready their weapons. "They're probably going to strike from all sides at a prearranged signal." He looked to his wife. "Shirk and I will slip around behind them as they work their way closer, while you and Brody drop back across the stream. When they burst into the clearing, start raining arrows down on them."

"We must make certain to take a couple of them prisoner." Brody warned the huge warrior. "They may know where Yrinn is hiding."

Raven and Brody quickly slipped across the stream and huddled down in the underbrush, while Shirk and Damion silently drifted off into the darkness in opposite directions.

As soon as he was away from the firelight, Damion drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther, then, after taking a moment to sniff delicately at the air, he started off through the darkness in search of their visitors. It only took a moment to locate the first two elves, both of whom were dressed in dark clothes and boots, and had red rags tied around the lower halves of their faces, concealing their identities.

"Hurry!" One of the elves hissed to the other in an urgent whisper. "We have to be in place when Makken gives the signal to attack!"

"Does Makken really think it'll take a dozen elves to take this man down?" The other elf asked skeptically. "Why not just send in a couple of elves to fill him full of arrows? We can collect the sword after he is dead."

"This is the Dragon Lord we are talking about." The first elf hissed with a scowl. "He's a sorcerer. It will take more than a few arrows to stop him."

"You don't really believe all of those outlandish stories about him, do you?" The second elf asked in a scathing tone. "They're just stories meant to amuse children and frighten the gullible."

"We're still not taking any chances." The first elf growled. "Now focus on the task at hand. The others should be just about ready by now."

Damion padded up behind the two elves silently, then slipped back into his own form. Reaching out his two massive hands, he grasped a handful of each elves' hair, then slammed their heads together violently, knocking them both unconscious.

"Ouch!"
Snowfeather hooted, circling directly overhead.
"That looked like it hurt!"

"We need prisoners to interrogate."
Damion replied, slipping into the form of a panther once again, and then hurrying off towards the next elf, who was creeping along through the darkness, unaware that two of his companions had been dispatched just a few feet away.

"Hurry up and take care of that one."
Snowfeather told Damion urgently.
"The others have nearly reached the clearing!"

"What's Shirk doing?"
Damion asked, slipping back into his normal form and knocking the elf unconscious with a well measured blow to the back of the head.

"He's knocked one elf unconscious, and killed another two."
Snowfeather informed him, tilting his wing and sailing back towards the grove.
"He's heading back towards the grove as we speak."

Damion quickly started back towards the grove, moving as silently as he could through the tall grass, then he paused as a sudden shout came from the clearing. Several more panicked shouts echoed through the night, then everything fell silent once again, save for a pathetic moaning that came from the clearing.

Damion quickly made his way back into the clearing with the Dragon Sword held at the ready, but found all but one of the elves already dead from multiple arrow wounds. The last elf lay on the ground near their campfire, gasping in pain from an arrow which was protruding from his thigh.

"I think that's all of them." Shirk grunted, stepping into the light of the fire. "I managed to knock one of them out so he can be questioned."

"I knocked three of them unconscious as well." The huge warrior nodded in approval. "That gives us five total to question. Maybe one of..." He was cut off as an arrow suddenly sailed in from the darkness and struck Damion in his armored chest, where it shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Are you insane?" Raven's angry screams could clearly be heard in the darkness nearby. "Are you
trying
to kill my husband?" There was a sudden meaty thud, and then silence.

"Raven?" Damion called to her, a sudden chill running up his spine. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Raven told him, appearing from the darkness wearing a furious expression. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," The huge warrior told her as she rushed to his side in concern. "The arrow couldn't pierce my armor." He rapped his knuckles against the overlapping scales and smiled. "Dwarven made steel. Best in the world." His face suddenly fell. "What happened?"

"I don't know," The young woman shook her head. "Everything went exactly as planned. When the elves burst into the clearing, Brody shot the leader in the leg to insure that we had a prisoner to interrogate, then we killed the others. We were about to come back into the clearing when you stepped from the shadows. Before I could even react, Brody fired an arrow right at you!"

"Where is Brody now?"

"I'm right here." Brody came limping in from the darkness with a dazed expression, and his nose bleeding profusely.

"Would you care to explain your actions?" Shirk demanded, his hand on the hilt of his dagger, and a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"I am truly sorry, Dragon Lord," Brody mumbled thickly. "I thought you were a blood elf." He mopped the blood away from his nose, and then winced. "I think you broke my nose." He grumbled to Raven accusingly.

"You tried to kill my husband!" Raven snarled, her eyes blazing in anger.

"I didn't realize it was your husband until after I had fired." The elven ambassador groaned, probing his nose gingerly. "I saw him move in the shadows and thought he was another blood elf. By the time that I realized it was Damion, I had already released the shot."

"You're lucky that Damion's armor was able to protect him." Shirk growled in a furious tone. "If anything like this ever happens again, accident or not, I'll skin you alive and leave you on the beach to be fed on by seagulls!"

"I swear to you, I was not attempting to murder the Dragon Lord." Brody stated firmly. "If I were, I would have had ample opportunity to try before now. We spent three weeks on a ship together, for Petra's sake. If I had wanted him dead, I wouldn't have waited until now to strike."

"Don't worry," Damion told the elf reassuringly, though the look like he cast Shirk and Raven clearly told them that he was still suspicious. "I believe you. Just try to be a little more careful in the future, okay?"

"Of course," Brody nodded, still probing his nose gingerly. He flinched, then turned to look at Shirk. "It definitely feels broken." He whimpered pitifully. "How does it look?" He dropped his hands away from his face and revealed his swollen nose, which was grotesquely crooked.

"It looks fine to me." The bearded bandit told him with a perfectly straight face.

"Are you sure? Because it really hurts!" The elven ambassador stumbled over to the stream to wash away the blood, and caught sight of his reflection in the water. "Agh! My nose!" He whirled back to stare at Shirk. "It looks fine, does it?" He asked in outrage.

"What?" Shirk held out his hands helplessly. "I don't see any difference."

"My nose is crooked!"

"Wasn't it always crooked?"

Brody scowled at Shirk for another moment, then whirled around to stare at Raven. "Look at what you did to my nose!" He cried, flinching in pain as he touched his nose again. "I look like a monster!"

"You're lucky that's all I did." Raven told him threateningly. "I should have taken your bow and stuffed it up your..."

"That's enough, Raven." Damion cut her off. "Brody said that it was an accident, and I believe him. We have more pressing matters to worry about." He gestured to the injured elf, who was still writhing in pain next to the fire.

"I'll go see to our other prisoners." Shirk cast Brody one last dark look, then hurried off into the darkness.

"What about my nose?" Brody cried, hurrying back to the stream to stare at his reflection.

Damion heaved a great sigh. "Let me take a look at it."

Brody hurried back to Damion, who knelt down and examined the elf's swollen nose.

"Hold still." The huge warrior reached out and took a hold of the elf's nose between two huge fingers, then squeezed. There was a loud crunch, and Brody let out a blood curdling scream, then he dropped to his knees, his face deathly pale.

Damion examined the elf's nose again. "Much better." He said in a satisfied tone.

Brody crawled back to the stream on his hands and knees to stare at his reflection. "It's still swollen," He started, turning his head back and forth appraisingly. "but I think you managed to straighten it again."

"Couldn't you have just used the Dragon Sword to fix it?" Raven asked Damion in a whisper.

"Yes," The huge warrior replied blandly. "but he
did
just try to shoot me in the chest. I figure he deserves to suffer a bit."

They quickly finished gathering their prisoners, then bound their hands and feet together firmly, and placed them before the fire to be questioned.

"This one is the leader." Shirk gestured to the elf with the arrow in his leg. "I heard him ordering the others around."

Damion looked to the injured elf, who stared back at him with hate filled eyes. "It looks as though you gotten yourself into a bit of a mess." He told the elf in an almost conversational tone.

"May Hetris take you, freak!" The elf spat at him in fury. "Do what you will to us, but it will do you no good! We will not tell you anything!"

"That attitude will not get you very far." Shirk growled, slapping the elf firmly on the back of his head. "I'd suggest that you remember your manners."

"I will tell you nothing, outsider!" The elf bellowed in fury. He looked to Damion. "You and your filthy friends are going to die here, Dragon Lord, and the followers of Hetris will defeat Petra's children, and take our rightful places as rulers of the Elven Island!"

"How did you know that we were camping here?" Damion asked, ignoring the elf's outburst.

"I will tell you nothing, freak!" The elf snarled, his eyes bulging insanely.

"I would rethink that answer if I were you." Shirk growled, reaching down and ripping the arrow free from the elf's leg, causing the elf to scream in agony.

"Was that really necessary?" Raven asked in disapproval.

"Yes," Shirk told her with an angry scowl. "Yes, it was."

"Do what you will to me!" The man screamed in a voice filled with pain. "I will not betray my brethren, no matter what you do!"

"Oh, you'll talk." Damion told him ominously, holding out both hands and allowing his magic to sizzle back and forth between his fingers like tiny bolts of lightening. "It may take a bit of..." He smiled an evil smile. "persuading, but I can promise you, you
will
talk."

The elf stared at the sizzling bolts of energy that streaked back and forth between the huge warrior's outstretched hands with terrified eyes.

"This is your last chance." Damion growled, reaching out towards the elf with both hands. "How did you know that we were here?"

The terrified elf struggled against his bonds helplessly, then let out a terrified scream. "We've had people watching for you!" He blurted finally, an expression of terror on his face.

"Shut your mouth, Makken!" One of the other elves hissed desperately.

"Quiet!" Shirk snapped, raising one hand threateningly.

"How is it we didn't notice that we were being followed?"

"The children of Hetris have their ways of moving unseen. We are at home in the shadows."

"Where is Yrinn?" Damion asked the terrified elf. "Is he still on the island?"

"I don't know where he is." The elf said desperately, still struggling to get away from the huge warrior's outstretched hands. "Another brother ordered us to find and kill you. He didn't tell us where the high priest was hiding!"

"You filthy traitor!" One of the other elves snarled at their leader in disgust. "The high priest himself will cut out your tongue when he learns of your treachery!"

"I said quiet!" Shirk roared, cuffing the elf on the back of the head. "Unless you have something useful to add, keep your mouth shut!"

"When was the last time that you spoke with Yrinn?" Brody asked intently. "Where were you exactly?"

"W-We were in the manor house just west of the city center in Oakenvale. It belongs to one of our brethren. We gather there from time to time to receive our orders."

"How long ago was this?"

"Four days ago." The elf replied, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "He told us to linger just outside of the city, and wait for orders. Then, two nights ago, one of our brothers appeared and ordered us to watch the road to Oakenvale for you and your companions." He flinched as one of the other elves spat at him in disgust, but continued. "Once you were spotted, we were to follow you until you made camp, and then ambush you."

Damion motioned for Brody to follow him away from the prisoners. "Do you know this manor house that he's talking about?"